The growing influence of the Hispanic culture in the United States has prompted the Pork Checkoff to enhance its Hispanic marketing efforts by aligning with the Pork Be inspired brand campaign.
“Hispanic consumers make up 16.7% of the U.S. population, with the percentage continuing to grow,” says Traci Rodemeyer, director of pork information for the Pork Checkoff. “Hispanic consumers love pork, and we want to continue to educate and inspire this huge segment of the population about pork’s possibilities.”
This summer, the Checkoff teamed with 100 Walmart stores in Texas, from Corpus Christi to Houston and beyond, to encourage home cooks to put pork on their grills. Each weekend from June through August, bilingual brand ambassadors hosted a party in the parking lot at each store.
The brand ambassadors fired up grills and handed out pork chop samples and recipe brochures featuring Pork with Rice and other pork dishes. They also visited with consumers who stopped by Walmart’s meatcases.
“Walmart’s theme is ‘meal solutions with the freshest ingredients possible,’” says Rodemeyer, noting that the Pork Checkoff partnered with Kingsford Charcoal and Bush’s Baked Beans on the Walmart events. “The grilled pork promotions were such a hit that the brand ambassadors needed more recipe brochures to distribute.”
The Pork Checkoff looks forward to working with Walmart on more pork promotions, says Rodemeyer, adding that the Checkoff is looking at new ways to connect with Hispanic consumers.
Focus Groups Asked, “How Are We Doing?”
This summer, focus groups were held in San Antonio and Los Angeles to determine if the Checkoff’s Hispanic marketing strategy is resonating with consumers. Participants shared opinions about print, radio and online media advertisements and offered feedback on the Checkoff’s Spanish-language Web site found online at www.porkelsabordemilplatillos.com.
“The research affirmed that we’re on target with our messages,” Rodemeyer says. “We also learned that bicultural Hispanic consumers look to their grocery retailer as a trusted source of information, so we’re developing plans to work even more closely with retailers in 2013.”
Since Hispanic consumers are social-media savvy and love to share recipes, the Checkoff is revamping its Pork el sabor de mi platillos Web site and plans to launch a Spanish-language Facebook page soon, Rodemeyer says. She added, “Pork is an important part of the Hispanic culture. We want to provide plenty of inspiration to help consumers celebrate this tradition.”
For more information, contact Traci Rodemeyer at TRodemeyer@pork.org or at (515) 223-3529.